Ford F-150 Lightning’s 300-mile range is with 1,000 lbs of cargo, actual range could be over 400 miles

The Ford F-150 Lightning might have a longer range than expected and could even present a new way of advertising range in electric trucks.

When Ford unveiled the F-150 Lightning, the automaker’s new electric version of its best-selling pickup truck, the company announced two battery pack options with 230 miles and 300 miles of range.

That was in line with other recently announced electric pickup trucks, but there’s a twist to it.

Ford told Marques Brownlee, a prolific tech YouTuber, that the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck’s 300-mile range is their expectation of the estimated EPA range with 1,000 lbs of cargo.

Brownlee said that the prototype Ford lent him was showing 367 miles of range on about 80% charge without any cargo in the back.

It means that the electric vehicle could get over 400 miles without any cargo in the back.

The F-150 Lightning also has scales in the back to weigh how much it is carrying and adjust the displayed range accordingly.

As we discussed in our interview with Darren Palmer, Ford’s head of battery-electric vehicles, the automaker is not yet releasing its battery pack capacities for the two F-150 Lightning options, but it will ahead of production.

Based on charging time and capacity, we estimate the battery pack to be around 170-180 kWh.

Electrek’s Take

This is an interesting development and an important distinction to make when it comes to range.

It could even become a new way to advertise range for electric pickup trucks, or at least, it’s something to consider.

Pickup trucks are often used for work and carrying cargo. It’s fair to share range based on cargo capacity.

At same time, a lot of people buy pickup trucks and use them 90% of the time as a regular passenger vehicle to transport little to no cargo.

Now range estimates are already hard to make due to all the variables and adding cargo, as a new one will only complicate things, but I’d argue that it’s one that automakers should consider for their advertised range.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.